Citigroup stock is soaring Wednesday after the big bank topped earnings expectations and unveiled a massive stock buyback program. Here's why that's important.

Citigroup ( NYSE: C) stock gained 5.6% in Wednesday premarket trading after the megabank posted better-than-expected Q4 results and approved a $20B stock buyback program. Furthermore, the company expects its net interest income to rise in 2025.

Citigroup said its board of directors authorized a new multiyear $20 billion stock buyback program that will begin in the first quarter of 2025, helping to trigger a surge in the share price. CFO Mark Mason said the planned buyback reflects confidence in the bank’s strategy.

Citigroup (C) reported fourth-quarter results that exceeded expectations, sending shares higher in pre-market trading Wednesday. Citi's net income for the fourth quarter was $2.86 billion, up from a loss of $1.

The bank unveiled stronger-than-expected results for the fourth quarter, in which revenue rose across all five of its main business lines.

Citigroup Inc. lowered a crucial profitability target central to Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser's plan to turn around the bank, but offered investors a sweetener in the form of share buybacks. Bloomberg's Todd Gillespie has the story.